10 Best Legal Thrillers To Bring The Courtroom Drama

Next month, Celadon will publish MT Edvards son's defense attorney A Nearly Normal Family, the poignant story of a criminal who was forced to ask if her 18-year-old daughter could have committed a brutal murder. Ahead, we revisit the 10 greatest legal thrillers of all time. From international blockbusters to hidden gems, these classics deliver unbeatable courtroom drama without having to sign up for jury duty.

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

When a beautiful and ambitious colleague is found murdered in her apartment, Rožat "Rusty" Sabich, deputy chief prosecutor for Kindle County, Illinois, takes the case. But Carolyn Polhemus was not only a colleague, she was also Rusty's lover. When evidence of the affair comes to light, Rusty goes from chief prosecutor to prime suspect; soon he will be on trial for his life. Is he an innocent bystander or a cold-blooded murderer? You won't know until you turn the last pages of Scott Turow's brilliant debut novel, which combines deep philosophical insight with authentic details about the inner workings of a big city courtroom, and a propelling mysterious plot that sets the gold standard for the modern. legal thriller.

See Also: 10 of the Best Political Thriller Books Ever

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The daughter of a lawyer, Harper Lee, was fascinated with the criminal justice system - she helped her good friend Truman Capote investigate In Cold Blood, and, as revealed in the new book Furious Hours, came close in completing her own work of true crime. It's no wonder, then, that this beloved coming-of-age classic features some of the most riveting courtroom scenes in American fiction, as Atticus Finch defends his client, Tom Robinson, against the false charge of raping a white woman. For millions of readers around the world, Atticus is the epitome of what a good attorney should be - trustworthy, honest, and willing to stand up for what's right, regardless of personal cost.

The Firm by John Grisham

Leave it to John Grisham to make Xerox-ing an exciting adventure. Few authors would attempt such a thing, but on the other hand, few authors have published a new international bestseller every year for the past 30 years. Grisham's astonishing success began with this story of a Harvard Law School graduate who uncovers dirty secrets at a Memphis law firm. As the FBI, the Mafia and the murderous head of company security breathe on his neck, Mitch McDeere makes a flight to - where else? - the Xerox device. With his breakneck pace and keen awareness of the temptations that come with the power to bend the law to your will, The Firm launched Grisham into the stratosphere of thriller writers.

Robert Traver's Anatomy of a Murder

In this 1958 bestseller, often credited as the first legal thriller, US Army Lieutenant Frederic "Manny" Manion confesses to murdering an innkeeper but claims the man raped his wife . When attorney Paul Biegler finds out that Manion has no idea pulling the trigger, he adopts a new defense strategy: not guilty on the basis of "irresistible impulse," a version of temporary madness. The legal joust between Biegler and the prosecution is made all the more compelling by the solid grounding in reality, proving that there are few places on Earth that are inherently more dramatic than a courtroom.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller is a Los Angeles attorney whose "office" is the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car. He also happens to be the half-brother of Michael Connelly's other iconic creation: LAPD detective Harry Bosch. When Haller agrees to defend a wealthy real estate agent accused of assault, he expects to make a small fortune in billable hours. Instead, he comes face to face with pure evil. To save the life of an innocent man, Haller will have to bend the law to the limit. Full of gritty detail, dark humor and high-stakes action, The Lincoln LawyerConnelly announced as a major player in the legal thriller game.

A Covenant with Death by Stephen Becker

This in a small New Mexico town in 1923 and New York Times best-seller dramatizes the clash between frontier justice and the ethical demands of the modern courtroom. When Bryan Talbot is convicted of the murder of his adulterous wife, 29-year-old judge Ben Lewis is sentenced to death despite his strong doubts about the case. But a shocking turn of events will force Lewis to consider not only his duty to the law but his own destiny as well. Author Stephen Becker has counted fellow writers John Irving, Joe Haldeman and Michael Chabon among his many admirers.

Defending Jacob by William Landaynauwermerks

often compared to Presumed InnocentThis thriller also features a prosecutor who is involved in a murder case than he initially shows. Here, however, Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber is not the accused murderer - his 14-year-old son Jacob is. The victim was a classmate of Jacob and a bully, but Andy would rather see the police focus their investigation on a local pedophile. However, when new evidence emerges, Jacob is arrested and tried.

Landay, a former prosecutor, brings a deep knowledge of the law to courtroom scenes and paints a devastating portrait of a family in crisis. But it's the novel's terrifying final twist that keeps you awake at night.

Mistaken Identity by Lisa Scottoline

Bennie Rosato, head of an all-female law firm, has built her career taking down dirty cops. So when her newest client, accused police murderer Alice Connolly, says her murdered cop's boyfriend shared drugs, Bennie believes her. More difficult for the Crusader attorney to accept is Alice's claim that she and Bennie are identical twins. A DNA test will solve the mystery, but in the meantime, Bennie must save Alice from the electric chair. Mistaken Identity is a standout entry in the Rosato & Associates series, consistently delivering suspense, romance and intense courtroom scenes.

The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter

Years ago, Justice Oliver Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court was derailed by his connections to a rogue CIA agent. When the judge passes away, it is up to his son, Talcott, to make his "final arrangements". Talcott follows a trail of cryptic clues and unlocks the hidden connections between his father's public humiliation, his sister's death in an accident, and a network of corruption that reaches into the highest trenches of power.

Carter, a professor at Yale Law School, fills every chapter with insider information about the federal legal system and the lofty world of New England's black upper class, making The Emperor of Ocean Park one of the most eye-opening legal thrillers of the past 20 year.

The Legal Limit by Martin Clark

Gates Hunt is a professional criminal; his brother Mason is a successful lawyer with a loving wife and daughter. When Gates gets a lengthy prison sentence for selling cocaine to an undercover cop, he tries to save himself by involving Mason in an unsolved murder. The problem is, Gates is telling the truth - or at least half of it.

A court judge in rural Stuart, Virginia, Clark based this profound and often amusing story on one of his cases. The author finds a rich vein of material in the discrepancies between the letter of the law and the true nature of justice, and his electric prose reads like a cross between Elmore Leonard and John Grisham.